Workers grapple with low wages amid rising prices

Between 2005-06 and 2010-11, industrial worker wages increased by about 9 per cent, according to the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) published by the labour ministry.

NEW DELHI: A decade of jobless growth, topped by the recent slump in manufacturing, has left India's work force dispirited and restive. The election campaign has generally not touched upon issues close to their hearts, especially wages. There has been much talk about price rise and jobs, but most workers, whether in the formal or informal sector, are not impressed.

"Kasme-vade, pyar-wafa, sab batein hain, baton ka kya!" says Magroo, who has worked in an auto-parts factory in North Delhi for over 25 years, quoting from a popular film song from the 1960s. "Promises, loyalty — all of it are empty talk."

Between 2005-06 and 2010-11, industrial worker wages increased by about 9 per cent, according to the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) published by the labour ministry. That works out to a measly 1.5 per cent per year.

Annual inflation has been raging for the past few years at an average of 5-6 per cent. So, real wages have fallen. Small wonder, that workers consider wages and inflation as key issues — one puts money in their pockets, the other takes it out.

Average daily earnings of factory workers were pegged at Rs 264 in 2010-11, as per the ASI reports. This is an all-India average, which spans such lows as Rs 203 in Tamil Nadu and Rs 206 in Punjab to Rs 440 in Jharkhand and Rs 391 in Maharashtra.

But, a remarkable finding revealed in the ASI report is that contract workers get about 25 per cent less than regular, directly employed workers. Average daily earnings of contract workers were Rs 199 only. Contract workers were estimated at about 34 per cent of the total workers covered in the ASI, which deals with only bigger, organised sector units.

Another important fact of life for industrial workers is that women's wages are much less than men's wages. The average daily earnings of women workers were Rs 149 compared to Rs 289 for men.

That's an enormous difference of about 48 per cent. Mostly, this reflects the fact that women are employed in lower paying, lesser skilled jobs. But, it is also a result of entrenched discrimination.

In the informal sector, where the vast majority of India's workforce is employed, wages and service conditions are far more onerous. Average wage for a casual labourer is just Rs 139 in rural areas and Rs 170 in urban areas, according to a report of the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) for 2011-12.

Agriculture is the occupation of the vast majority of informal sector workers. According to Census 2011, the number of agricultural workers has jumped up by about 36% between 2001 and 2011. Now, they number 8.6 crore, of which more than a third are women.

Wages of agricultural workers are some of the lowest in any occupation, ranging between Rs 199 for harvesting and Rs 230 for ploughing. Again, these are all-India averages, with wide variation between states. Kerala has some of the highest wages, while Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have the lowest in most cases.

Low wage employment and marginal work, that is, irregular, short term work, have become the norm in agriculture as well as other sectors. It is a kind of hidden unemployment. The bottom of the pyramid is seeking a different direction — one that is more sympathetic to labour.